In a punch press, in order to punch a hole in a worksheet successfully, the punch tool (punch) has to be pressed below the top surface of its corresponding die. However, wear and tear sets in when the punch has been used many times. Whereupon tile punch becomes dull and the holes made thereby on the worksheet become unacceptable. The punch then has to be sharpened.
Ordinarily, the same type of punches, as originally manufactured, tend to have the same predetermined length. However, in the typical shop environment, an operator has no guidelines on how much to grind a worn punch in order to sharpen the same. In other words, albeit it is known that the length of the punch will be shortened, there is no guarantee that every worn punch, once sharpened, would have the same length. Accordingly, prior to the instant invention, the operator has to carefully measure the length of the sharpened punch and provide the required offset to the ram to drive the punch. In the case of a numerically controlled punch press, this means manually inputting the new measured length of the punch and the required offset for the ram. Needless to say, such manual input adds additional steps, and therefore additional unproductive time, to the operation of a punch press. Furthermore, for a turret punch press having a multiple number of punches, the measurement of the respective lengths of the punches and the inputting of data to the computer become multifold.